THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

August 4, 1997

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The Cabinet Room

10:25 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Before we start, I think it's only fair
to note that we are observing another anniversary of Helen's 50th
birthday. (Laughter.) We wanted to give you a birthday cake with a
tell-tale number of -- ("Happy Birthday" song is sung.) (Laughter
and applause.)

MS. THOMAS: Now, may I have a press conference?
(Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to make a statement and you
get the questions. (Laughter.)

MS. THOMAS: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Take it to the press room and cut it up.
(Laughter).

MS. THOMAS: Thank you. This is painful. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: You don't make it look that way. It's
painful for me, too. (Laughter.)

I'm glad to be joined today by the CEOs of 10 Fortune
500 companies who have come here to meet with me on climate change.
These companies represent electric utilities, the oil and gas
industry, finance, high technology, and heavy industry. They are all
intimately interested in this issue and will be affected by whatever
happens on it in our country and throughout the world.

We want a responsible approach to climate change. We
believe that the science makes it clear that the climate is changing.
I want to proceed based on some fairly straightforward and simple
principles. First of all, as we get ready for the Kyoto conference,
I believe there should be realistic but binding limits to emissions
of greenhouse gases. I believe that we have to do it in a way that
keeps our economy growing. And I believe that we ought to embrace
flexible, market-based policies. I believe we should reemphasize and
reenergize our efforts in research and development to find as many
technological solutions to this as possible, and to keep our nation
in the forefront of what is now a $400 billion market for
environmental technologies.

And finally, I believe the agreement has to be a global
one. I think all nations, developed and developing, should be a part
of this. So this is part of an ongoing process that I and our
administration have undertaken to try to make sure we're working
together with all the people who would be affected by this issue and
try to reach, hopefully, a common position.

We're going to have a good meeting today, and I'm
looking forward to it. And, again, I want to thank all the
executives for coming here and giving vent to their views.

Q What do you think of the opposition, who says there
is no such thing as global warming and that they don't agree with the
scientists -- some of the scientists?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that the real question is
-- I don't think that very many people disagree with the fact that
there is climate change now, I think there's some disagreement about
what the impact of it is and what the appropriate response is.
There's still some debate there. But I think the scientific evidence
for the fact of climate change is pretty compelling.

We had that panel of scientists, including the Nobel
Prize winners here the other day, and I received a letter from -- I
don't know -- over 2,500 of them, from scientists about it. So I
think that there's pretty clear evidence that the climate is changing
and could be changing substantially. There is still some difference
about what the consequences of that will be and what we ought to do
about it.

But I think if we follow these principles, we'll be
staking out a responsible position, which will permit us to continue
to grow economically and do our part in the world. After all, we
have only four percent of the world's population, but we account for
20 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions, which you would expect
since have slightly over 20 percent of the world's output.

Q Mr. President, how seriously are you considering
using a line-item veto to kill some provisions of the budget you'll
sign into law tomorrow?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I asked Mr. Bowles to -- once we
got a budget agreement and it passed -- to institute an intensive
process to review both the spending and the tax bills to see if there
were any items that would be appropriate for the line-item veto. And
I have not yet received the results of that review.

I support the line-item veto; I did all along. And I
think if we have it, it ought to be used -- I believe that it ought
to be used somewhat sparingly. And my experience as Governor was
that once I used it a few times I didn't have to -- I didn't need to
use it very much anymore. And that's what I would hope would happen.
We'll just see -- you probably know more about the likely targets for
it than I do at this point. I was interested in the big-picture
items in the budget. We got virtually 100 percent of what I sought
and I'm elated with the budget. I think it's good for America. I
think it will keep the economy growing, and I think it's a
responsible thing to do. So whatever I do on that shouldn't be in
any way detracting from the terrific job that the Congress did on it.

Q Mr. President, one question on UPS -- the standards
for presidential intervention are relatively high. Are you
considering doing anything else to intervene to bring an end to the
strike?

THE PRESIDENT: On UPS?

Q Yes, UPS.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first we urged the federal
mediator, and we got that. And we got -- obviously, it didn't work.
I still think the parties ought to go back to the table. UPS is a
very important company to our country and there are a lot of
employees there, and I hope they go back to the table. But at this
time I don't think any further action by me is appropriate.